As I recall, Intel had put out a very strong warning about memory voltages and Sandy Bridge months ago.. They said that since the memory controller is built into the CPU, damage to the CPU can result if you overvolt your memory too much..

Naturally, ASUS disregarded it and gives people the options to overclock as much as they want..  But really, people need to be made more aware of the warning by Intel..     IMO, It's not ASUS's fault, ASUS just gives people options, though with these high end boards it's easier than ever to burn things out.

Further, I believe these boards have an auto-overclock function.. Which might be just a bit too aggressive on the memory.. That alone could explain the whole issue.

 

 

[edited by: Sidicas]

Is this issue peculiar to the Maximus IV Extreme or are other ASUS MBs also having the issue you discuss?  None of the other ASUS MBs seem to be in constant back order.  Any other manufacturers' boards having this same issue?

OldFred:

Is this issue peculiar to the Maximus IV Extreme or are other ASUS MBs also having the issue you discuss?  None of the other ASUS MBs seem to be in constant back order.  Any other manufacturers' boards having this same issue?

Any motherboard that overclocks the RAM heavily will have this issue.. I believe the Asus board has an auto-overclock option which is probably why this seems to be a problem with this particular motherboard.. But really, it's just automating what you could have done manually..  ASUS might have made it a little too easy for your average user to heavily overclock the RAM on this motherboard. That combined with the fact that Intel has warned against overclocking the memory too much is what's probably burning out those CPUs.

I do not believe the lower end Asus boards give the users auto-overclock features, so yea, it only effects the higher end boards.  But if you set your memory voltage high enough on the lower end boards, you can do the same thing (burn out your CPU).

A lot of people don't realize they can burn out their CPU by setting their memory voltage high.. But RAM these days can take a lot more volts than the memory controllers in the CPUs.  The limits of memory voltage has changed within the past couple years from what the RAM can take to what the memory controller inside the CPU can take and a lot of people probably don't realize it.

 

 

[edited by: Sidicas, Sidicas, Sidicas, Sidicas, Sidicas]

Newbie Question: Can I turn off the auto-overclock of RAM?

Also, if ASUS makes the auto-overclocking less aggressive going forward, can the previously purchased M4E boards be updated to the safer less aggressive auto-overclocking algorithms?

Thanks for your help... 

Just OC it manually.

Unlike the I7's the Sandy Bridge CPU's can not run 1.65v RAM, it will fry the CPU, 1.5v RAM only.

 

Thank You GmsCool, I was wondering about that.

I am still puzzeled by one thing, There is a new series of Patriot memory(available in a lot of P67 mobo combo offers) that is supposed to be designed for the P67 platform, yet it is 1.65v. 

It's for overclockers. I see a lot of folks trying to run at 1.65V and tell them they have to manually set the BIOS to run DDR3 at 1.5V. Sustained 1.65B use *WILL* fry the CPU eventually.

In a previous thread (http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/678619.aspx) I asked about DDR3 1600 RAM versus the (more expensive) higher frequency RAM that the ASUS MB will work with.  I got the recommendation of CAS 7 DDR3 1600 RAM as a high value choice that will get me the vast majority of the speed that higher frequency (but CAS 9) RAM would at twice the price.  The specific recommendation was:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231431

I purchased this G.SKILL RAM (it has not arrived yet) and the NewEgg page reports it's voltage as 1.6V and "Designed for Intel P67 motherboard".  Will I be able to run this RAM at 1.5V or should I return it and purchase something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445&cm_re=ddr3_1.5V_1600_8GB-_-20-231-445-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233147&cm_re=ddr3_1.5V_1600_8GB-_-20-233-147-_-Product

- both of which NewEgg reports as 1.5V DDR3 RAM (but CAS 8)?

Thanks for helping clear the fog! 

I just got a text and an email from NewEgg that the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme is back in stock.  I went to the NewEgg page for this MB and found the below (the OUT OF STOCK is as usual, the DEACTIVATED is new)...Huh?

OUT OF STOCK.

DEACTIVATED. This item is currently out of stock and it may or may not be restocked.

OldFred:

I just got a text and an email from NewEgg that the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme is back in stock.  I went to the NewEgg page for this MB and found the below (the OUT OF STOCK is as usual, the DEACTIVATED is new)...Huh?

OUT OF STOCK.

DEACTIVATED. This item is currently out of stock and it may or may not be restocked.

 

 

Unfortunately Intel dropped a bit of a bombshell regarding Sandy Bridge 6-series (H67 & P67) chipsets today, you can read more here:

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/681505.aspx

- Paul